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Single Giant library workroom. Takes a bit of set-up but once done is done.

90 (40%)

Specific Library sections. Books are in the library and the menu is managable.

111 (49.3%)

Generic library sections with free floating books. Messy, but flexible.

19 (8.4%)

Other: Describe (keep in mind the limits of modding)

5 (2.2%)

Total Members Voted: 224

[xoen]

Bravo. Definitely interesting(sorry for my short, useless input, though).

[sunshaker]

It might be interesting to vary the ingredients needed based on the gem in question (fire gem needs something fire related or maybe something water related).

[bhamv]

That looks quite complicated, as well as having quite specific requirements (coal/lignite veins, saltpeter, the alum stones) so the end result would probably need to be suitably powerful.  Otherwise there's not much incentive to try to go for the infusion metals when steel is so plentiful.  Still, it sounds well cool though.

Plus, hey, something useful for all that alunite!  That's a definite plus in my book!

[Mephansteras]

@sunshaker: Not a bad idea, although I'll have to play with it. This system is already adding a lot of complexity to the infusion process, and I don't want to make it so difficult that no one ever bothers to make them.

Yeah, I imagine one of the reasons they aren't used so often right now is that there isn't a major incentive to use them over steel. They're better (for the most part) than steel in the current version, but the difference has such a limited actual effect on the game that I don't know how much people care.

It's quite possible that there will be a larger demand for these in the next version. Using Incendium weapons, for example, might make fighting a Bronze Colossus doable in a way that mere steel doesn't. But we'll have to see. I'd love to have Glacium actually have a stronger effect against Fire based enemies, but I'm not sure if that'll be possible or not. I'll have to see.

Fortunately, I'll have the Arena mode to actually test these changes.

EDIT: Oh, I forgot to mention in my original post that Saltpeter can actually be created using Potash. It requires urine and some other stuff, but was actually made rather then mined during the middle ages. So I'll probably make a potash->saltpeter reaction in the alchemists shop. That'll make this a bit easier.

[Mephansteras]

Added a poll. I'm curious to see what aspects people are most interested in. I'll probably be doing bits and pieces of everything as I go along, but if people have a strong preference for one area over another I can focus on that first.

[JanusTwoface]

Regarding your earlier question about the more interesting metals, I just wanted to say that I alternate between Dig Deeper and Civ Forge, but I don't have much experience with metal industries of any sort.  However, based on the discussion of new metals requiring Alchemists and the like, I think I'll definitely have to check that out once the new version is out and Civ Forge is updated.

That being said, +1 to new races.  I like the flavor of Civ Forge and it's neat to see a few different races visiting my fortress that might otherwise not show up.

Anyways, that's my two cents, keep up the good work!

[Mephansteras]

Looks like new races is the preference so far. Which doesn't surprise me.

I'll probably go with the following:

First release will have:
  1) Basic game balance changes (fix crop seasons, fix alloy ratios for bronze/brass, etc)
  2) Classic Civilization Forge Races
  3) New basic stones and gems (Nivocite, Amazonite, etc)
  4) New Weapons and Armor for racial differentiation (like lamellar)
  5) Civilization Forge plants (at least the basics, like glow caps)

After that, we'll see how things go. I'll still have new animals to put in, all of the expanded races, plus the new metals and alchemy.

[JanusTwoface]

Only a week (ish) until the next release! Out of curiosity, how long do you think you'll spend playing vs modding after it first comes out?

[Mephansteras]

Knowing me? I'll probably start modding the same day it comes out. Well, depending on how much time I have that day, at least. But I expect I'll start a lot of the basic modding almost immediately (like fixing the alloy ratios)

[Mephansteras]

Other uses for Alchemy: Extracting Mithril and Levisum

I'm thinking of using Alchemy (the skill, at least, not necessarily the workshop) to make the extraction of Mithril and Levisium from Truesilver and Levitite more interesting. It'll also provide more of an in-game reason why most races can't use them, even though it's not that hard to find sites where they're just sticking out of the walls.

Aqua Fortis (Nitric Acid) was used historically to separate silver from copper deposits. A separation chamber of some sort could prove a good way to do the same with Mithril and Levisium and give the alchemists more to do. Alloys would then be created using normal smelting methods, possibly including further alchemical mixtures.

As a side note, I'm going to probably rename all of the alchemical mixes using the dwarven language instead. So instead of Aqua Fortis (Strong Water) we'd use Midor Arel (power water - since we don't have a direct word for Strong in dwarven).

I also had a thought while reading up on Charcoal production. Apparently a well-made charcoal oven would produce much more usable charcoal then a poorly built one. Which makes sense. So I'm thinking of making a custom workshop that is a Finely Crafted Wood Furnace that requires stone blocks to build. That would then produce two charcoal or ash for each log. Makes a tree-based fuel economy a bit more sustainable.

[Mephansteras]

And so it begins. Not even a day could pass with the new version before I started modding it. Mostly balance issues, but a few new things got added as well.

Bronze, Bismuth Bronze, and Brass have been rebalanced so that they require much more copper per tin/zinc.
Aboveground crops have been given seasons
Belowground crops have been set to not have seasons

Added elements:
Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Cotton, and Glow Caps have all made it in. Adding plants seems to be pretty straightforward, so the others will all make it in shortly, I think.

Additional balancing to do: Mineral frequencies and values (Platinum should never show up in anything other then small clusters, ore should be worth less then processed metal, rock crystal needs to be more common)

Next I'll probably add in the new non-ore stones and gems, like Nivocite and Amazonite.

After that, I may tackle a few basic animals (Like the Giant Beetles, Cave Crabs, pigs, and chickens) or see about modding in a few new races.

[JanusTwoface]

Can't wait for the update. For some reason it amuses me greatly to equip my military in chicken leather armor. (and with uniforms it's all the easier)

[Ampoliros]

very interested as well, i miss having so many trade caravans and sieges.

re: new non-ores, i was curious; Nivocite seemed to be primarily an igneous extrusive replacement for bauxite; with new melting points for stone making many more things magma-safe, is it much use now?

[Mephansteras]

Yeah, Nivocite itsn't really needed anymore. But it's a neat looking stone and I enjoy making stuff out of it, so it'll go back in anyway.

[Mephansteras]

Been doing a bit more work. Got most of the ore balancing done. Ilmenite is also now a viable source of Iron (it shows up in veins). It's also mostly found in Gabbro, so that'll be helpful for traditionally iron poor maps. I have special plans for that ore later (Wootz steel), but that'll have to wait until I get to custom workshops.

Currently working on getting my domestic animals back in. I think I have pigs and chickens working ok. Cave Crabs work in the arena, but I haven't managed to get them to be a dwarf-specific domestic animal yet. They might just end up being common in top cave layers and easily tamed and trained. We'll see. I also need to check to see if they drop usable shells for moods.

After that, Beetles!